Joey Essex reveals what REALLY happened with those Zara McDermott ‘kiss’ pics – and why he will never go back to Towie

JOEY Essex has broken his silence on the Zara McDermott cheat storm that erupted when deepfake pictures of them kissing swept the web. Insiders insisted the pair were sharing an innocent hug and kiss on the cheek goodbye after wrapping on Cooking With The Stars in May – but AI pictures had fans up in arms. Joey Essex has broken his silence on the Zara McDermott cheat storm that erupted when deepfake pictures of them kissing swept the web Credit: Splash Joey and Zara appeared on Cooking with the Stars together earlier this year Credit: Getty Zara has been dating One Direction star Louis Tomlinson since March 2025 and his fans furiously accused her of cheating. Now Joey, who is single, has become the first of the pair to address the drama. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! Speaking on The Sun’s Showbiz Fix, Joey said: “So I can’t say too much because me and Zara was on a TV show. “But we obviously both come from reality, I guess, as she was on Love Island. Zara is in a happy relationship with singer Louis Tomlinson Credit: instagram Joey recently became single again Credit: PA “So we just, obviously, naturally bonded on the show and just as… you know, it was just cool. “But it wasn’t like anything like that. “And I think paparazzi just sometimes can get a great shot but it wasn’t like what it looked like. “It was an innocent kiss on the cheek.” Most read in TV As well as the pictures of Joey kissing Zara’s cheek, internet troublemakers used AI wizardry to make it look as though they were sharing an actual snog. Joey said: “That ain’t me though. I don’t even know how that happened. Honestly, like.” It’s been 15 years since Joey shot to fame on ITV’s Towie – but he’s dashed any hopes he would ever return to the reality series where he made his name. He added: “I just think with Towie, the ship sailed.” Instead he’s one of the stars appearing on ITV’s new programme, The Box, which is hosted by Gary Lineker and sees celebrities take on wacky challenges. It starts on Saturday at 8.15pm on ITV1 and ITVX. Joey said: “I was good, but I also struggled. “Do you know what? People are going to really see the real Joey Essex. I mean, I always give the real Joey Essex, but this time you’re going to see there’s a point in this journey, in this show. “There’s moments in this show when you know, in my face, you can see that I am trying my hardest. And when I say every single challenge, right, I was like, right, I’m going to do this. “I’m the winner. I really wanted to win. I’m very competitive. And it was very tough. “But everyone really struggled to be fair. “I mean, like Ranvir Singh, for instance, she was so afraid of water and in the first day she had to get in water. “She overcame a massive fear, bless her. I mean, we’ve all learned a lot from the show.” Comment now